1. Princeton University's PEAR Laboratory
The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Lab was founded in 1979 by Robert G. Jahn, Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University. An objective of the Lab was to study the ability of consciousness to influence physical processes. The lab was managed by Brenda Dunne, a developmental psychologist trained at the University of Chicago, and had a full-time staff of half a dozen scientists as well as numerous interns and visiting researchers. During its 28-year history, the lab worked to study and understand the anomalous impact that the mind seemed to have on physical devices, including electronic random event generators (REGs). Among other things, Princeton's PEAR laboratory discovered some basic principles as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,064 related to theorized potential control an individual may have over his environment and how to effect such control.
For reference, said '064 patent describes its historical background as follows:
“Many types of experiments and devices utilize random-event generators or random-number generators. Such generators include true-random-number generators (that generate truly random numbers) and pseudo-random-number generators (those devices and computer programs that generate pseudo-random numbers, which are seemingly random numbers, but which in actuality are more or less deterministic). Pseudo-random number generators can include devices or programs that generate a complex sequence of numbers that are based on a “seed,” and that, given one particular seed, will generate the same sequence of pseudo-random numbers. Between true- and pseudo-random-number generators are “biased-true-random-number generators,” that generate a biased sequence of random numbers, wherein the bias is due to perhaps some environmental factor, such as electrical or magnetic fields, temperature, voltage, circuit drift, or some other factor or field.
In attempts to produce true-random-number generators, researchers have attempted to remove or minimize causes of bias in the random number sequences generated. Unbiased random numbers are useful in a number of experimental and applied sciences. In the past, such attempts have resulted in expensive and highly sophisticated electronic circuits, which have been large, non-portable, complex, and difficult to interface.
A number of years of experiments at the PEAR Lab using a highly sophisticated microelectronic random event generator have demonstrated correlation of certain mean shifts of the output function with the stated intentions of operators physically isolated from the apparatus, compounding to a high level of statistical significance. Although the mechanism by which probabilities are affected is still not understood, the phenomenon has been well documented and results published in respected and refereed scientific journals, as well as the book Margins of Reality, The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World, by Robert G. Jahn and Brenda J. Dunne, Harcourt Brace and Company, 1987. The invention to be described is concerned with the reduction to practice of the laboratory instrument, yielding practical devices which may be mass produced economically and operated in the field. Additionally, it defines various implementations of the technology and the applications to which they may be put.
Much effort has been devoted over history by inventors, scientists and even gamblers and sports figures to effect some degree of control over autonomous physical objects and systems above and beyond the use of muscular contraction and extension. For example, some golfers “ooch” their putts towards the cup even after the ball leaves the club face. Slot machine players look to winning strategies. The Air Force has invested millions in research to produce systems which enable fighter pilots to operate their cockpit displays and guns without removing their hands from the flight controls. Clearly a form of control over one's environment which emanates from the mind alone, unfettered by the need for physical contact, is something long sought, and has provided the theme for numerous science-fiction scenarios. It offers a challenge to the scientific mind, and has long been a subject of fascination to the public in general.
Game devices, such as self-powered toy vehicles or computer video games, often have user-input control devices, such as joystick controllers, keyboards, trackballs, or “mice” which translate manual movements of a human operator (e.g., hand or finger movements) into control signals for moving or controlling operation of the toy or game. Each of these user-input control devices requires some muscular movement by the user. Thus, a device that responded to human intention from a human without any direct connection, and could “read” the thoughts or intentions of the human in order to control some device, has been dreamt of, but never realized.
2. Psyleron, Inc
Psyleron, Inc. was founded by individuals formerly working within and/or affiliated with the PEAR Lab and in close cooperation with founding members of the PEAR Lab, so as to further continue and expand beyond the original research initiated by the PEAR lab. Among other things, Psyleron's research is focused on better understanding how physical reality is affected by consciousness and/or other paranormal factors. Here, the terminology paranormal is used herein as a general term that describes unusual phenomena that lack a well-accepted scientific explanation. Here, paranormal should not be misinterpreted to encompass common mis-conceptions or assumptions, but rather to broadly encompass all extra-physical phenomena that may not currently be understood or that may only be partly understood within the scientific community. In this use of the term, many paranormal or extra-physical phenomena involve well understood results with limited understanding of the underlying cause, such as, e.g., the well known result that a person's positive attitude can affect their health in a positive way, while there are no currently uniformly accepted reasons therefor. Nevertheless, the fact that one's subjective mental state can affect their health is measurable and quantifiable vis-à-vis experiments which compare a control group not exhibiting the subjective behaviors in question with another group that expresses hope, motivation, enthusiasm or other “soft” factors relating to general well-being. From this, more accepted concept, there is a range of illustrative examples, ranging from the widely accepted to the very-limitedly accepted—by way of example, a large percentage of the population, worldwide, believe in some form of ability to engage in prayer to seek to impart some sort of change, and scientists writing established medical journals such as “Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing” have in some instances found results suggesting improvements due to prayer whose mechanisms are not yet explicable in classical scientific terms.
Here, Psyleron, Inc. has performed many studies in which certain paranormal or extra-physical results have been shown to occur. Recognizing, from a scientific perspective, that our scientific community does not have a well understood basis to explain such extra-physical results, Psyleron, Inc. can identify that such results relate, in short to, properties of consciousness (e.g. “mood,” “feelings,” “intention,” “attitude,”), subjectivity (e.g. “beauty,” “appreciation,” “resonance,”) and properties of interpersonal or environmental dynamics (e.g. “feeling connected,” “being in the zone,” “being on the same page”) and that the scientific principles and concepts necessary to convey such processes may involve premises which are still being understood and are not yet a part of the well established nomenclature in any field. Furthermore, these explanations may involve premises ranging from those which may be generally accepted within the scientific community (e.g., that the phenomena in question eminate from yet unknown chemical, physical or biological origins), to those which may be less accepted in scientific principal yet which have a place in the common literature (e.g. resultant from a religious or spiritual process, due to God or some deity, resultant, resultant from one's own will-power, resultant from “Chi” (as in the Eastern Medical Sense), or from some other form of “energy” that is yet to be captured and well understood by conventional science), or a variety of yet other explanations. In short, the terminology extra-physical phenomena is used herein to identify unknown causal interrelationships outside of what is currently well known physical causes (e.g., Newtonian physics, heat transfer, gravity, magnetism, electricity or the like), but such could also involve yet not understood aspects or relationships related to such properties (e.g., such as how gravity is not understood and there exist many scientific theories relating to how the force of gravity creates its effects).
Another way to appreciate this is to note that extra-physical factors, in many instances appear to be related to human intention, mood, states of mind, and/or the like, but are not yet widely understood by science. These can also be understood to include anomalous phenomena, which has been defined as a phenomenon or class of phenomena which appear to be real on the basis of empirical data, study, and well-controlled good faith inquiries into the nature of the physical world, but which is not yet account for, fully explained, well understood, classified, or accepted in the current/mainstream body of scientific knowledge. An example of such phenomena would be the quantization of charge seen in data relating to the photo-electric effect, or the problem black body radiation not behaving according to the expectations and knowledge of classical physics in the early 20th century. In both cases, empirical measurements of a phenomenon predated any known physical cause, but the existence of such empirical anomalies eventually to led the development of entire fields of science such as quantum mechanics and solid state physics, which ultimately led to thousands of future innovations.
While the original PEAR Lab and other's following in this general field have focused upon the degree by which one may be able to consciously control their external environment, the present inventors at Psyleron, Inc. have taken a different direction and have developed a variety of unique and highly usable and beneficial systems and methods based on this different direction. In particular, rather than focusing merely on the potential that one's consciousness may be able to control external matters and to strive for an extreme goal of creating control devices or the like, the present inventors have appreciated other applications and uses in relation to evaluation (e.g., metering, including, e.g., making a measurement from a device in order to come to a conclusion or idea about something in the environment) of nuances in random event generation anomalies and the like and the surrounding circumstances related thereto. Thus, rather than focusing solely on using the principle that one's mind may be able to control devices and to creates devices based on that principle, the present inventors have focused on, e.g., the principles that a) if there are in fact extra-physical or paranormal events (whether a user's consciousness and/or some other event) that may impact our environment, then a user can gain valuable insight, appreciation and/or knowledge by observing such anomalies in random events and seeking to correlate them to an environmental occurrence.
To help the reader appreciate this notable distinction, FIG. 17 shows the prior focus upon having a user seek to control a device, such as, e.g., an REG device or another external device (i.e., resulting in focus on action in the direction of the arrow 1 shown in FIG. 17). In contrast, in many embodiments of the present inventors, the focus is not upon the user's control of a device, but on having a device identify anomalies that may result from a variety of possible factors (such as, e.g., in the illustrative and non-limiting example shown in FIG. 18 based on the user him/herself, based on a group of individuals or inter-relational situation (e.g., depicted as a plurality of circles), and/or based on another environmental phenomenon that may or may not be known or appreciated), and having the device make the user aware of such situation (e.g., as a means to meter, identify, evaluate or observe, rather than to control, resulting in focus on action in the direction of the arrow 1 shown in FIG. 18). And, in some preferred embodiments described herein, this action also leads to facilitating identification of other environmental factors and/or issues (such as, e.g., shown at the arrow 2 in FIG. 18) that may have an impact on the operation or reading of the device. Thus, the device can serve to help the user to obtain a greater appreciation on events around him/her (i.e., resulting in evaluation, rather than control). It is noted that, among other things, Psyleron's well controlled experiments have demonstrated numerous results of this nature, such as, e.g., that when the REG is operated during games where people are having fun, a result frequently occurs, or when the REG is operated during a talk by a “charismatic speaker,” an interesting result often occurs, while in various other, uninterested situations, such results do not often occur.
Among other things, as described herein-below, it is noted that the various embodiments herein do not rely on the paranormal phenomena for legal utility under 35 U.S.C. 101, but that, by way of example, the mere possibility or theoretical potential or belief in a user thereof can also achieve very valuable uses and benefits, from education, to helping focus attention, to amusement, to reminders, and more, as the reader will appreciate based on this disclosure.
3. References
Each and every one of the disclosures of Nelson, R. D., Bradish, G. J., Dobyns, Y. D., Dunne, B. J., Jahn, R. G., FieldREG Anomalies in Group Situations (1996). J. Scientific Exploration, 10, No. 1, pp. 111-141, Nelson, R. D., Jahn, R. G., Dunne, B. J., Dobyns, Y. D., Bradish, G. J, FieldREGII: Consciousness Field Effects: Replications and Explorations (1998). J. Scientific Exploration, 12, No. 3, pp. 425-454, U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,064, Bradish, et al., 1998, for an “Apparatus and method for distinguishing events which collectively exceed chance expectations and thereby controlling an output”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,157, Ikake, 2006, for a “Random number generator”, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,727, Vincze, 2002, for an “Analog-to-digital conversion method of random number generation”, are incorporated herein by reference, in their entireties, as though recited in full.